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Phones to be used as room keys

InterContinental Hotels Group have announced plans to use new technology that will allow guests to by-pass the check-in process and unlock their room with their mobile phone. A trial of this new technology will commence in two properties in America in the next couple of months.

It sounds exactly like some of the mobile technology that some airlines have already introduced, where e-tickets and boarding passes are emailed/text to a mobile device and the traveller simply holds the phone up to scan the barcode. This hotel technology is certainly an interesting development and one that will no doubt be a huge benefit to the business traveller especially.

So which lucky properties will trial this new technology? The Holiday Inn Chicago O’Hare Rosemont and the Holiday Inn Express Houston Downtown Convention Centre. If any readers of this blog happen to be staying at these hotels, do let me know if you use this new mobile technology and what you think. The trial will initially only be available to smart-phone users, however its thought that it will be rolled out to be compatible with any mobile phone.

Left: Image of a similar Air France bar-coded message on a travellers mobile.